Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Westfield you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant alternanthera.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

Frost tolerance for alternanthera:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant alternanthera until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Westfield is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alternanthera and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your alternanthera may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your alternanthera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Westfield. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Westfield is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Westfield last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your alternanthera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Westfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Westfield

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Westfield.